The Wolf's Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence (17 page)

“I did.”

Her brow arched delicately, “And why did the
doctor call me Mrs. Gerrick?”

“I think you already know the answer to that,
you little minx.”

She hummed in her throat and sighed. He
helped her to lie back down. “Because mates are for life.
Married.”

“Yes.”

Her eyes were closed now, but her lips were
smiling. “You can’t think you’re going to get me that easily, Jason
Gerrick. I want the whole thing. A nice proposal, the ring, the
dress, the vows. All of it.”

Full to bursting, he wanted to shout for joy
and run circles around the hospital. “I will give you anything you
wish, but we have a lot to talk about first.”

She turned over onto her side slowly and
looked at him. “I remembered last night before work, and I wanted
to talk to you about it. I wanted you to tell me the truth and then
I wanted us to talk, privately. Chris wanted to take me out, but I
didn’t want to be with him. I felt sorry for him, I guess, so when
he asked for just 15 minutes to talk, I gave in. After a little
back and forth, I told him I didn’t want to be with him and he, I
don’t know, it was like his whole demeanor changed. He looked
really, feral, I guess is the right word. He stalked me, played
with me, and then he chased me. I, only remember the headlights,
and thinking I wouldn’t get to see you again.”

So Linus was right. Chris had chased her
right into danger. He was definitely going to pay for what he’d
done.

“Jas, when you marked me, why did you push me
away later? Why were things so bad between us for so long?”

He blew out a breath and ran his hand through
his hair. "You were so young when I marked you, my father was
afraid that your father would turn me into the cops, and he put
power into his own suggestion to you that it had been an accident,
and that you were to tell your father that you fell into a rose
bush. We think that because you were so young and impressionable
and enough of you is wolf, that you took his suggestion as truth.
In a normal situation, an alpha doesn’t come down on cubs as young
as you because the orders can be taken so literally and you never
really know how a child will react.

“Jake pointed out that because we were mates
then the order would cripple you with the pack if you didn’t figure
it out soon enough, so my father made another edict that no one was
allowed to tell you that you were alpha either. Unless you asked.
But you never did, sweetheart. It was like you thought you didn’t
belong with us. And to answer your question, love, I pushed you
away because I was afraid to hurt you once I shifted. I did it so
well that you thought I hated you. I never did. I swear on my
life."

She mused quietly on what he’d said. “At
least now I know why I couldn’t ever get you out of my head.”

He kissed her cheek and then settled back in
the chair with a sigh, still holding her hand. “It was the same for
me, love. And since Michael spilled the beans about you being
marked and alpha, we can talk freely now about what happened
between us, but we don’t have to do that here. It’s enough for me
to be able to tell you this truth. I love you Cadence. I always
have.”

“I love you, too, Jas.”

She drifted off to sleep and when she was
breathing rhythmically, he got up to phone the people waiting for
updates. Come morning, she’d have a crowd in here, and she’d get
firsthand experience for what it meant to be pack.

It was a hell of a day. In 24 hours, he’d
nearly lost his love not only to another but to the shedding of her
blood. He didn’t ever want to go through that again. No matter how
things played out with Chris, they were together now, at least
together enough that he could keep her safe and with him, and
that’s what mattered most. He could publicly claim her to the packs
on the full moon, and then they’d take their time getting to know
each other. Now, running on emotions, she trusted him, but when the
glow faded, she would want answers and true to her nature, she
wouldn’t let him off easy at all. But he’d take it, whatever
penance she wanted him to pay so that they could be together, no
price was too great. To keep his mate safe, he’d do anything. She
deserved love and happiness and family. And it was his job to see
she got it in spades.

She slept restlessly overnight, waking often
and reaching for him, and he was glad he was there for her and that
she wanted his comfort. When the doctor came by in the morning to
check on her, he declared that as long as there were no
complications that she could leave on Tuesday morning.

Her breakfast was all soft, bland things and
she made a seriously unhappy face when she looked at the tray. “You
have to eat, love. That jell-o and broth last night wasn’t enough
to keep a mouse going, let alone an alpha.”

She fixed the grits grudgingly but ate,
thankfully. He didn’t want their first argument as a couple to be
over hospital food when there were so many other things that he was
certain she was going to bust his balls over. The first visitors
were his parents, Callie, and Michael, who fawned over her,
assuring her she looked perfect and lovely. Which was true, even
with the cuts that had not faded yet. He knew she was surprised by
the flood of visitors from the Tressel pack. Even the girls who had
been so callous to her were among the first after his family and
his top ranked. The room was so full of flowers that it looked like
a florist had thrown up all over everything.

“Looks like it’s time for lunch, doll.” He
said fondly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She was fading.
Hungry and exhausted.

One more meal of soft things and then she
could have a regular dinner, they’d been told, and then home in the
morning. She hadn’t asked about going to her own house yet. He was
waiting for the right opportunity to tell her that he wasn’t about
to let her out of his sight. Not until they’d found Chris. Every
time he checked his cell, hoping for a text from Linus, he was
disappointed.

While she slept after lunch, he stood out in
the hallway and got updates from his men. Trick was looking for
Chris, but so far his cell was turned off and he’d not gotten any
hits on his truck description or license plate. A lot of Jake’s
pack had been by to see her, and if not they’d sent flowers, but
there was an uneasiness now and a lot of that was because no one
knew just how bad the punishment would be when Chris was found, and
hell, he wasn’t really sure either. He wanted to slaughter him, of
course, rip his head off and be done with it, but death was too
easy. Whatever he decided to do with Chris would be monumental and
the right thing.

It was late. The TV in the corner flickered,
the sound low. “You can go home, Jas.” She yawned, tucking one hand
under her cheek.

“I’m good, baby.” He couldn’t wait to get
home to his bed and get a decent nights’ sleep. Exhaustion was
seeping into his pores and grabbing hold.

“You are.”

“Hmm?”

“Good. You’re taking very good care of
me.”

“Of course I am. We’re mates, Cades. That
carries a lot of responsibility with it. And I, well, I fucked up a
lot of things, but I’m trying to set it all right. It might just
take me a while.”

Her voice slurred towards sleep, “We’ve got
the rest of our lives.”

So their first argument wasn’t about eating
hospital food, it was about her coming back to his house to
recuperate. The doctor said she should take it easy until the
weekend and wanted someone with her, and Jason wanted her in his
home for more than one reason.

Arms folded, she glared at him while he held
open the passenger door of her car. Bo and Michael had dropped off
her car that morning. “You can glare all you like, but you’re
coming home with me. There is no safer place than the trailer park,
and with Chris still off the radar, I won’t put you at risk in your
house.”

“Even if you’re with me?”

“Yeah. Even then.” At least she wasn’t saying
she didn’t want his company.

Her mouth opened and then closed, and then
her arms uncrossed and her shoulders sagged. Ha! Success! “Don’t
look so smug.” She groused as she sat down.

“Sorry. I don’t win arguments with you very
often.” Even if it had been a mild one, it was still a victory in
his book.

As he drove them to the trailer, a lot of
things raced in fast forward through his mind. The first time he’d
realized they were mates, when she was 7 and he was 12. It was just
a simple click in his mind, as if his brain suddenly realized that
she was made for him. Then later, when he was 18 and she was 13,
and he’d been in the habit of riding by her house after school to
make sure she’d made it home okay, and she hadn’t. So he’d driven
his motorcycle on the route between her house and the school and
found her walking because she’d missed the bus. He offered her a
ride and gave her his helmet. He hadn’t said two words to her after
offering her a ride, and it had been the hardest thing he’d ever
done when she got off the bike and handed him the helmet. He saw
the confusion in her eyes, the wonder and hope, and he just put the
helmet on and left. And then he bought her a helmet of her own, but
she’d never ridden with him again, not until recently.

When his father had been shot by a hunter
outside of town mistaking him for a real wolf too close to his
farm, Jason had taken over in interim, and his father had decided
to step down. That had been right after Cadence’s father had died
and she was a mess emotionally, and he’d needed her but was afraid
to ask her for help. It was not the first time that he’d wanted to
hold onto her for comfort. Somewhere in the middle of the pack
problems and his father’s long recovery, Jason had lost her so many
times, but this had been too close for comfort.

She was chewing her lip. He reached over for
her hand and held it lightly on his thigh. The top was bruised from
the IV needle. “You don’t, you don’t think Chris will come for me,
do you?”

"He’d be a fool if he did. The trailer park
is full of the Tressel pack. It's the safest place for you. The
very best thing to do, sweetheart, is a full marking. The full moon
is Friday, and I can make a verbal commitment to you and you can
make your commitment as alpha. And then when you’re ready, I can
mark you again, do it right this time.”

She didn’t look at him, but continued to chew
on her lip and stare out the window. The trailer park where he and
most of the pack his age lived was on the other side of town near
the garage. He carried her inside the trailer and laid her down on
the bed. Thank goodness Callie had cleaned up for him. Michael said
she’d been very insistent.

Walking back out to his men who gathered for
instruction he said, “Okay, we’ve got a missing wolf out there
that’s got our alpha female on his mind. No matter what his
intentions are now, he hurt her and he cannot be allowed to get to
her. Until he’s found and dealt with properly, be on alert for him
at all times. Linus?”

“Trick’s had no luck. We can’t find a fresh
scent for him anywhere in town. We’ve got eyes on the condo and the
credit union.”

Nodding, he said, “Make sure the entrance to
the park is manned until further notice, Michael, you handle the
shifts. Bo, go to the station, offer Trick any help he needs to
monitor the town. Linus, get any free hands together to get the
shop cleaned up. I don’t want any reminders of what she went
through." His people nodded and moved to action.

He stood on the front porch for a few
minutes. This was the first time since he’d taken over as alpha and
had to prove himself to the older wolves that he felt like a true
leader. Part of that was that Cades was with him now, at least as
much as she could be until they’d talked everything through, and
the other part was that he’d handled things just like an alpha
should. Calm, controlled, thinking through every scenario before
making a decision.

His little sweetheart was curled up in a
ball, looking tinier than ever, dwarfed by his king sized bed. He’d
expected that she might want to cry, and he’d been anxious to get
her alone so she could lose it if she needed to. No one would have
thought less of her if she’d had a total meltdown publicly at the
hospital. Someone she cared about had hurt her physically after
terrorizing her. She’d been through a lot, and hadn’t really talked
to him about what had happened except when she first woke up. And
then she’d been overwhelmed at the support of the pack. But she
wasn’t crying.

She sat up slightly when he came into the
room to check on her. "Why didn't you tell me that you were trying
to protect me, to keep me safe when you were changing?"

He sat down on the corner of the bed with a
sigh. “I thought that maybe you wouldn't understand, or you would
try to be with me anyhow. I was afraid that I’d hurt you and then
you wouldn’t trust me.”

"I wasn't stupid, Jas." She rolled up slowly
into a sitting position. "Even though I was young, I loved you. If
you told me you were afraid you'd hurt me, then I think, no, I know
that I would have stepped back. I would have done anything to be
with you, even if it meant standing down for a few years. I felt so
lost without you, like someone had grabbed my heart out of my body
and left a big gaping hole."

There it was. The crushing guilt. He'd
screwed up so badly. "I'm sorry, baby. I know I didn't handle
things right, I was young and foolish and the last thing I wanted
to do was hurt you, and I may not have hurt you physically but I
know I hurt you emotionally. That's almost worse in my mind. I was
always around, always watching over you, but I was afraid to get
close to you because the beast is, demanding, in some things."

She moved closer, her scent swirling around
him. "What things?"

"Mostly you." He swallowed, trying to quell
the urges that were surging through him. She was recovering, she
wanted to talk – they needed to talk. He had to stop his baser
urges.